Fleas - help a first timer!

[Anonymous]

Our dog got a bad case of fleas, totally my fault for not giving her flea treatment the last six months - I stupidly thought a dog who was mostly indoors wouldn’t be affected. I bought flea shampoo and washed her last night, although I realize I didn’t cover her under belly well.... then used a flea comb to get out anything I could see and put frontline oil on her. Today I vacuumed the house, washed all bedding and blankets in hot water, and put some chemical spray on the carpet in our bedroom, the living room rug, and in her favorite spots where she sits. I hate using the chemicals but figure one light treatment shouldn’t be too horrible. I have checked her with the flea comb today and still found a few live fleas. What should I do next to make sure this isn’t an ongoing issue. I feel so bad because she has been itching like crazy and licking her skin raw and I had no idea!

[Anonymous]

I think I remember someone saying it's okay to bathe your dog in Murphy's Oil Soap. The soap kills the fleas. Lather it up, leave it in for a bit if you can manage it, and then rinse it off thoroughly. Be careful with excessive use of flea products -- run it by your vet before doing anything additional. That stuff can be toxic to your dog.

[Anonymous]

You can use Dawn dish soap to kill them, FYI. This is a tip I got from fellow puppy/kitten fosters. I was SUPER freaked out the first time it happened but none of them blink an eye about it and that calmed me down a bit.

Sounds like you are on the right track.

[Anonymous]

Frontline didn't work for us. Our Vet suggested Advantage. She said Frontline has been on the market so long that it no longer is as effective as it once was. Apparently the fleas learned to not be effected by it.

[Anonymous]

In the "olden days" when we had fleas - before frontline and other products - you sent your cat or dog to the vet to be "dipped" and made flea-free while you had an exterminator bomb your house. The flea eggs can be anywhere from carpet to even in between the cracks on hardwood floors. I had three rounds of that before my house was finally flea free.

[Anonymous]

Professional exterminator, ESPECIALLY if you live in a multi-unit building (apartment, duplex, semi-detached, et cetera). Fleas are hardy little critters and can hide and breed indefinitely. Even household products that claim to kill all lifecycles of the flea will leave many, many alive to continue their circle of life. Call the pros and take the nuclear option.

Dish soap is great for killing fleas on a dog. Leave it on for 10 minutes or so, then rinse, and watch out for the ones that try to jump to safety. But like I said, for every flea that's on the dog, there are many more in your carpet, sofa upholstery, cracks in the flooring, and so on, ready to continue the cycle. You MUST attack your entire home to effectively kill them, or you're just wasting your time.

Fleas and bed bugs. The two critters that are virtually impossible to eradicate on your own.

I'd much rather have a roach or rat infestation than go through the flea circus again.

P.S. As you've discovered, flea (and tick) season is year-round in DC. You have to keep your pets on preventatives year round, and even then, that's no guarantee. I know many dogs (including my own) who got fleas while on Frontline. They had some quality control issues a few years ago, and if you order on Amazon or such, there's a pretty good chance you'll end up with ineffective counterfeit product.

[Anonymous]

Capstar to kill the existing fleas, then I bought a flea bomb for the house. It's like an aerosol container-type thing that you set off and then leave the house for several hours. It's the only thing that worked for us.

[Anonymous]

My dog had fleas twice, both times when he was on frontline. You do not need chemicals for your carpet or a flea bomb. I was able to get rid of the fleas by vacuuming (put a flea collar in the vacuum to kill fleas you vacuum up) and washing bedding every day or every other day until the fleas were gone. I also combed my dog for fleas twice a day and most importantly, I used K9 Advantix. According to my vet, K9 Advantix spreads through the fur so when you dog sheds, it can help kill the fleas around the house. However, I would not use Advantix regularly or if you have a cat in the house because it is toxic to them.

[Anonymous]

If you have carpet baking soda works and is non toxic. http://www.fleabites.net/how-to-kill-fleas-with-baking-soda/

[Anonymous]

You need to wait 24 hours after a bath for the topical stuff (Frontline and others) because the oils in the skin are needed for it to distribute. Go to your vet and get an oral solution. If this is the only animal in the house, that should do it. If not, treat all the animals in your house with the pill or chewable.

[Anonymous]

If you bathe your pet in a dish soap, it will remove the flea medication because it strips the hair follicles of the grease layer that holds the chemical in the follicle. Use shampoo, not dish detergent.

Use an oral product like bravecto or nexgard along with a topical product like activyl or K9advantixII. Frontline is becoming ineffective.

Vacuum house very day and throw away the bags. Wash bedding with bleach in the water. Vacuum hardwoods, baseboards, everywhere.

Make sure every pet in the house is treated.

Vet here. Done this before. Sometimes you need an exterminator.

This is why the vets recommend flea and tick medication year round. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Capstar to kill the existing fleas, then I bought a flea bomb for the house. It's like an aerosol container-type thing that you set off and then leave the house for several hours. It's the only thing that worked for us.

+1

Do not mess with other approaches. You need Capstar (Rx from veterinarian) and a flea bomb plus a good vacuum.

Then do not miss a single monthly prevention pill (Nexgard is what we use). Metro DC is a swamp and fleas love it here.

[Anonymous]

Op here - appreciate all the advice. I didn’t get the cap star but regret it because we just found one new/live tick in her ear. I am going to call vet tomorrow if we find anymore. We cleaned everything, put towels on furniture to wash at night and everything but clearly we missed something

[Anonymous]

Cap star doesn’t kill ticks.....only fleas. If you are fighting fleas, I would give it once daily for at least a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cap star doesn’t kill ticks.....only fleas. If you are fighting fleas, I would give it once daily for at least a month.

Op here - no iidea why I wrote tick, I meant flea!! Thank you!